


Love Addict

by redluna



Series: University Verse [1]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, And some mentions of bullying, As related to memories of Tarsus IV, Brief mention to a prior school shooting, But other then that this is a serious fluff fic, F/M, M/M, References to child neglect and death, college doctor!McCoy, professor!Kirk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-11
Updated: 2013-10-11
Packaged: 2017-12-29 03:36:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1000408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redluna/pseuds/redluna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>McCoy knew being a doctor on a college campus would be different but he didn't expect to have to face down so many lovestruck students all chasing after an apparent modern day Casanova in the form of "Professor Kirk".</p>
            </blockquote>





	Love Addict

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written for [this prompt](http://strek-id-kink.livejournal.com/2836.html?thread=1580564) for at the Star Trek: Into the Darkness kink meme.

Leonard McCoy knew there'd be more than one person back home who would look at the "prestigious" doctor position in comparison to the job he had now and think that his divorce had forced him to downgrade in life. But those people were all ones with sticks wedged firmly up their asses, so he didn't tend to give much of a damn. Besides, the college he was working at was top notch and a lot less stressful than his old gig.

Alright, it would be less _stressful_ if he didn't have to deal with this sort of bullshit each day.

"It's not even my fault!" Annie was gesturing around so much by this point that McCoy was glad he had stepped out of the range of fire. "It's just that he's _so_ hot. I mean, how are we expected to be able to focus?"

"Uh-huh," McCoy said. "Now I'm sure this is difficult, but would you stop waxing poetic about this guy for a few seconds."

"What, do you—"

The rest of her words were—thankfully—covered up by a gurgle as McCoy shoved the thermometer into her mouth. When he pulled it out, however, he glowered at the thing and then at her. "This thing says you're _under_ a temp."

At least the girl had the decency to look sheepish before launching into her spiel. "I'm really sorry, Doctor McCoy, but like I said, he's just really hot and I couldn't—"

McCoy didn't exactly _kick_ her out, but it was a close thing.

\--

Technically Carol Marcus could get away with eating her lunch in the cafeteria or even in her own office. But ever since McCoy had failed miserably in trying to pick her up (in that drunken encounter never allowed to be discussed again) she had become the closest thing he had to an ally on the Enterprise campus. Which was why she would pop by to eat lunch in his (much smaller) office and listen to him gripe about his latest encounters with lovestruck students.

"I suppose I _do_ get where they're coming from in a way." She chewed thoughtfully on her mouthful of salad. "I mean, he is way too attractive to be allowed." She rolled her eyes when McCoy narrowed his eyes at her. "I'm only stating facts!" The fervor with which she jabbed her fork at him was enough to make McCoy lean back. "It's because of him you even got your job. Christine Chapel came to me in tears after he informed he'd only been out for a good night and didn't get why she was so upset. She transferred to a college all the way across the country just to get away from him."

"Huh." McCoy shrugged. "Guess I lucked out then." He thrust up his hands when Carol scowled at him. "I mean...uh...how dare that selfish bastard?"

Carol rolled her eyes up in exasperation towards the ceiling, but stabbed her fork back into her salad instead of at him (thank God). "Just stay away from him. His reputation is no good."

McCoy snorted, picking at his own (much less healthy) sub. "No need to worry. I'm not some swooning Southern belle all set up to be ravished by a handsome rake." He shook his head when Carol only raised her eyebrows at him. "Oh, shut up and eat your rabbit food."

There was a smile tugging on the corners of Carol's mouth as she turned back to the container but all she said was, "Yes, Doctor."

\--

There was a counselor on campus, but McCoy had been warned when he took the job that some students might feel more comfortable coming to him. He had expected he would have to deal with students crumbling under the stress of schoolwork or some weepy kids (who liked to pretend they weren't actually kids) coming to him for relationship advice.

It would seem he had underestimated just how weepy they could be, however. 

"So, I'm sorry, but remind me again, what—" McCoy raised his eyebrows as the rest of his words were cut off through the sheer force with which Gaila blew her nose. He definitely wasn't going to ask for his handkerchief back after this. "What exactly happened?"

"I... I..." It seemed like all of Gaila's words were going to be interposed with little hiccups. "I've been asking Professor Kirk for some tutoring help." A hint of slyness slipped in before getting lost under the miserable sounds again. "Not that I really needed it. I just wanted to be around him more and I thought he knew that. I mean, we were getting along really well each night, so I was totally justified in kissing him!"

And, alright, McCoy's eyebrows were probably somewhere in his hairline right now. "Please tell me he didn't kiss you back." He knew this Kirk guy was a bastard (Carol made sure to keep him updated on that) but he hadn't thought even Kirk would slip down into this level of pure nasty.

"No!" Gaila wailed. "That's the whole problem! He just pushed me away and said I shouldn't have done that and he couldn't tutor me anymore." Her bottom lip wobbled. "He wouldn't even look me in the eye."

"So let me get this straight," McCoy said. "You came onto a professor and you're upset because he did the right thing and turned you down?" He gulped when Gaila narrowed her watery eyes at him, patting her shoulder awkwardly. "Rant away, sweetheart."

\--

Out of all the students he had to treat, McCoy had a bit of a soft spot for the little Russian exchange student Pavel Chekov. The kid's roommate, Hikaru Sulu, was the good sort too, which was why he wasn't all that surprised to learn that it had been Sulu who had forced Chekov to go to the med center in the first place after he kept insisting he only had the "sniffles".

It only took a few pokes and prods for McCoy to realize that it was definitely something more than just the sniffles. "Seriously, kid, if you let this go any longer you would have been stumbling in here with a bout of the flu." He shook his head. "You're definitely going to be out of commission for a few days at least with the temp you're running."

"B—But..." Chekov swiped at his already red nose with his shirt sleeve, which _really_ shouldn't be somehow adorable. "Zhat means I will miss Professor Kirk's class!"

"Oh no, not you too." McCoy scrubbed a hand across his face at Chekov's puzzled expression. "Do you 'like' Professor Kirk?"

The way Chekov's whole face flushed with color within half a second was all the answer needed. "Not in the way zhat you are describing!" He looked down at his hands, which were currently curled up on his thighs. "He is a wery good professor and all of his classes are wery enjoyable." His smile was small and sweet. "He is wery kind."

Chekov might have missed it because of how determined he seemed to be not to meet McCoy's eye, but the way Sulu's face shuttered at the mention of Kirk, his stance becoming tense as Chekov spoke about the professor, certainly wasn't lost on McCoy. He knew jealousy when he saw it, after all.

So he made sure to wave Sulu on ahead before catching Chekov at the door. "Listen, kid, you might have a snowball's chance in hell with this Professor Kirk, but I'm pretty sure Sulu would jump at the chance to take you out."

If he had thought Chekov had been excited to talk about Kirk, it was nothing to how he was now. The kid was practically bouncing up on the tips of his toes, his whole face lit up with a grin. "Do you really beliewe so, sir?" 

"Oh yeah, I definitely believe." McCoy patted Chekov on the shoulder. "Go get 'em, kid."

"Yes, sir!" Chekov darted out of the place like a horse finally set free from its reigns and from the way Sulu grinned when Chekov finally caught up enough to start babbling at him, McCoy was pretty sure things could only go well.

"Thank God it's curable," McCoy muttered before heading back down the hall to his office.

\--

McCoy was mostly there to treat the students, but he never closed his doors to the occasional professor who wandered in to get a quick checkup or to snag some medicine to ward off the latest bug going around. Or, if you were Carol Marcus, you would just fix McCoy with watery eyes until he gave you whatever it was you needed. Even if it was just for a paper cut. (He could already hear Carol ranting out, "I was _bleeding_ , Leonard! And I can't believe you told me to just stick it in my mouth and stop whining! Do you have any idea how unhygienic that is?")

What he wasn't use to was having someone actually phone ahead to let them know they were coming, but this was Uhura and based on who her boyfriend was he really wasn't all that surprised.

He could hear them arguing from the moment the door opened, even if it was in that hushed whisper yelling thing they did, so he was already up with his arms crossed by the time Uhura finally prodded Spock into the room.

Spock, of course, already had his own defense at the ready. "Doctor, I am sorry to have made you prepare unnecessarily, for I assure you I am—"

"Oh, shut up, pointy, and get on the table," McCoy said.

Spock's brow furrowed. "Pointy?" He moved to sit down on the table only when Uhura started to poke him in the back again. "Is that a reference to the state of my ears?"

"You bet your ass it is," McCoy said. "Were you an elf in a past life or something?" 

"The existence of reincarnation is still an issue of great debate," Spock said. "Even if such a thing existed, however, it is unlikely that I would carry over such a physical trait. It would only be the inner soul that would be—"

"Dear God, man, it was a joke," McCoy cut in. He glanced over at Uhura, shaking his head. "He must be great at parties." He pressed his fingers down around Spock's throat before the other man could speak up, frowning as much at the slight swelling he felt there as the nearly not there wince Spock gave when he shifted his fingers. "Well you definitely have an infection of some sort. Now don't freak out, I'm not putting you on bed rest, but you're gonna need to take it easy." He flicked his eyes up to Spock. "How's your throat been?"

"Not good," Uhura said. "He's been drinking even more tea than usual." She rolled her eyes at the look of surprise Spock shot her way. "You thought I didn't notice? _Honestly_..."

McCoy ducked his head to hide the smile that was tugging at the corners of his mouth. Spock might get on his nerves more often than not, but damn if the two of them weren't cute together. "Look, you might have strep or at least getting there so I'm gonna write you a prescription for some anti-botics that should ward it off. Sound good?"

Uhura went to answer, but Spock reached out, sliding his fingers down around her wrist. "That will be acceptable," he said. You could almost say he smiled when Uhura visibly relaxed.

"Good to hear." McCoy handed the slip of paper over to Uhura, knowing well which side of the bread he was buttered on.

Uhura sighed as she took it. "Jim is going to be disappointed," she said. "He was determined to drag you out for that..." Her brow furrowed. "What did he call it?"

"I believe it is what is known as a 'pub crawl'," Spock said, and it was only sheer force of will that kept McCoy from bursting out laughing. "I was told it was customary for birthday celebrations, especially given Professor Scott's heritage."

"I think he's confusing Scottish with Irish again," Uhura said, but she sounded amused. She turned to smile at McCoy. "Thanks, doctor, I knew he would listen to you."

"To me?" McCoy shot an incredulous look at Spock, who was looking rather pointedly (ha) at the wall. "Huh." He shook his head. "Well it should all go fine so long as you don't let this Jim guy get a hold of him."

"Don't worry," Uhura grinned, "I'll be sure to scare him off."

\--

McCoy didn't think much on what Uhura said until there was a pounding on his door in the middle of the night on Friday.

He almost rolled off his bed in a tangle of blankets when he first tried to get up, so he was already in a fit state as he barreled down the steps to answer his door. He was glad, for the first time ever, that Joanna wasn't staying with him that weekend since he didn't want to have to subject her to this.

He half thought it would be his next door neighbor, come to tell him off about the state of his lawn (again), but instead it was Uhura and Spock, who appeared to be holding the man between them up through sheer force of will.

"What the hell?" McCoy said. "When you said you'd warn him off, I didn't think you were going to resort to violence." 

Uhura shot him a wane smile. "I really am sorry, doctor," she said, "but the hospital is a ways off and I remembered how close you are."

McCoy got the feeling that he probably should be more irritated than he really was, but instead he just waved them inside. "Lug him in then," he said. "Just please don't let him bleed out all over the couch. Damn thing's new."

\--

Being a doctor didn't mean that McCoy had a completely stocked medical base at home. It did mean, however, that he had a supped up first aid kit that was a damn shot better than what came standard issue. By the time he snagged it out of the bathroom and trudged back to the living room, Spock and Uhura had already gotten the guy propped up on his couch with some wadded up tissues up his nose. He was protesting quite strongly, apparently, to the light being on, though.

"Look," McCoy said, "if you want me to not prod your damn eye out the light's staying on." He tossed the first aid kit down onto the couch before seizing the guy's chin so that he could tilt it towards the light. He had no qualms about swatting the guy upside the head when he didn't hold still either.

"Ow!" The guy turned towards Uhura as best he could. "Did you see what he just did? He hit me! I thought you said he was a doctor."

"I'll hit you for real if you don't settle down," McCoy warned. He hissed out through his teeth as he dropped the guy's chin, already having seen enough of the damage to know it was bad. "Although I don't think I can give you much worse than you already have. What'd you do to warrant that kind of smack down?"

Spock opened his mouth, but the guy beat him to the punch. "There was a guy hitting on a girl he shouldn't have been. She told him no but he wouldn't stop." The guy scrunched up his face, although he seemed to quickly realize how much that actually hurt to do. "Unfortunately he had friends."

"Yeah, that I can see," McCoy said. He opened up the first aid kit, rifling through it for some bandages and Neosporin. "Bet the girl appreciated your efforts, though." 

The guy's grin was a borderline smirk. "Got her number."

"Good for you." McCoy poured some of the Neosporin out onto a cotton swab. "Now, if you didn't like the light you're gonna _hate_ this."

\--

The guy whined the whole way through getting patched up, making Uhura roll her eyes a record number of five times while Spock just looked on long sufferingly. If this was the standard norm for them then McCoy almost felt sorry for them.

"There, you can quick your bellyaching now." McCoy closed up the first aid kit, feeling rather pleased with his handwork. "You're as good as new now even if you do look a bit like a mummy."

The guy reached up to touch his face, wincing a little as he felt all the bandages. "Okay, this is definite overkill." And then the guy straight up pouted at him. "Would you like me more if I told you that you're definitely working the rugged, sexy doctor angle?"

To think McCoy had thought himself beyond being rendered speechless by this point in his life. "What?" was all he was able to get out.

The guy was definitely smirking at him now. "You'd be able to work even better if you took off that shirt, though."

The back of McCoy's neck did not heat up. "Yeah, that's not happening, partner," he said. "Now why don't you let your friend's take you home before I give you a few more bruises."

"Mean," the guy said, but he was already pushing up from the couch.

Uhura looked like she was on the verge of eye roll number six. "Don't mind him, doctor," she said. "He's just upset that his students will no longer swoon over his face."

"Hey, I resent that!"

"Wait a second..." McCoy had a sinking feeling growing in his stomach. "You're not Professor Kirk, are you?"

The guy all but beamed at him. "So you've heard of me!"

McCoy tipped his head to the side, brow furrowed. "Yeah, but gotta admit--I thought you'd be a bit more than this."

"Oi!"

\--

McCoy felt a certain amount of satisfaction when he was able to stroll into his office to meet Carol for lunch and announce, "So I met the terrifying Professor Kirk last night." Or, at least, he felt satisfied until Carol reacted by dropping her coffee container on the floor. At least there wasn't much in it and they had enough napkins to deal with the mess between the two of them.

Carol only paused to fling the damp napkins into the trash before unleashing herself upon him, however. "I swear to God, Leonard McCoy, if you tell me you had sex with him I will toss your arse down right here and now."

"Shouldn't you be going after him if that happened? Which it didn't, by the way. And, Jesus Christ, don't use my full name. Makes you sound like my mother." He trumped around her (no small feat) to plop down at his desk, digging his lunch out of his paper bag. "He just got himself into a spot of trouble so his friends brought him by to be patched up. I got him taken care of then sent him on his way, simple as that."

"A spot of trouble, huh?" Carol collapsed into her chair far more gracefully than him, legs crossing almost by second nature. "That does sound like Kirk." She popped open the plastic lid for her salad, eyeing McCoy curiously. "So that really was all that happened? He didn't even try to work in some flirting?" McCoy knew he'd made the mistake of hesitating for too long when her eyes widened. "Oh my God!"

"Oh, can it, would you?" McCoy said. "This guy is a modern day Casanova, isn't he? He probably goes into that ramble with everyone."

"I resent that." It was only through some very quick handwork that McCoy didn't actually drop his sandwich. It was probably a damn good thing that he put down when he looked up then since Jim Kirk chose that moment to actually wink at him. "I only flirt with the cute ones."

"You've got some weird tastes, kid," McCoy said. He ignored Jim's (he wasn't going to think about him as Kirk, so help him) splutters, sighing as he stood up from behind his desk. "Although you look a damn sight better than when I last saw you."

"Yeah, well it turns out I didn't need all those bandages after all," Jim said.

"They're your infections to deal with, not mine," McCoy said. "Now did you have an actual reason to be here or...?"

"Of course I do!" McCoy didn't realize that Jim had been keeping his hands behind his back the whole time before he whipped out a freaking bouquet of flowers from behind it. "I wanted to give you these as a thanks for putting up for my half drunk ass last night. You treated me a lot better than I thought you would."

"My, my, is that humility I sense, Mr. Kirk?" Carol's tone was like the first crisp bite of winter and her expression wasn't much better.

Jim flashed her a quick, bland smile before gesturing the bouquet of flowers. The man was wearing the same hopeful expression as a puppy who had just brought the stick back to his owner.

"Well thanks." McCoy scooped up the floors, figuring the thing was pretty nice as far as flowers went and he certainly hadn't been expecting to be thanked for helping out, at least not from Jim (Uhura and Spock were a given). "Guess I can find some use for them."

"You should put them at the front desk," Jim said. "This place could use some brightening up." He swung in far too close to McCoy. "Speaking of which--what does it take to get you to smile?"

McCoy arched a brow. "More effort than you've got time for, kiddo." He shoved the bouquet back into Jim's hands. "Now why don't you make yourself handy and go find a vase for these?"

"Hey, I'm really not that much younger than you, you know!" Jim looked down at the flowers. "Um, where would I find a vase?"

The flowers wound up in an ancient vase wrangled out of some back closest and McCoy very pointedly ignored the looks that Carol kept shooting him all throughout the rest of their lunch break.

\--

Jim Kirk, as it turned out, was a determined bastard. The front desk got it's own little row of brightly arranged flowers (Jim started to just bring vases with him eventually) until McCoy put his foot down. "This is a crap way to make me smile, you know," he told Jim. He wasn't at all prepared for the guy's face to crumple in a way that made him feel like he'd just kicked a dang puppy, though.

He rolled his eyes over the chocolates that showed up on his desk next. The only reason he didn't shout at Jim for bringing in cupcakes later that week was because it was obvious that they had been homemade. They weren't the best with their lopsided tops and brunt bottoms, but Jim lit up like a damn Christmas tree when McCoy said he'd take them anyway. Especially because Joanna wound up loving the cupcakes almost as much as she loved the chocolates.

McCoy didn't even realize how far it was getting into the month until he showed up to the med center one morning to find Jim hanging a paper skeleton on the front door. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he demanded.

"What do you think?" Jim replied. "You can't not have decorations up when Halloween is only a week away. For shame."

"Halloween, huh? Well what do you know." Halloween didn't mean all that much to McCoy, honestly, besides snuggling up with scary movies if he got to have Joanna (and giving her as much candy as she wants) and having to deal with a bunch of students trying to pass their hangovers off as the flu the next day. "But why the skeleton?"

"Because you're a doctor." Jim beamed at McCoy, who only continued to stare at him. "Don't you get it? You're a doctor so you get bones!" His eyes widened. "You should totally be a skeleton for Halloween. It'd be wicked!"

"There are so many reasons why that will never frickin' happen," McCoy grumbled as he climbed the steps. He huffed a small laugh as he stuck his hand into his pocket to get the keys. "Guess it'd fit, though. Only got to keep my bones after getting kicked out, after all." He shook his head in response to Jim's puzzled look. "Thought you would have heard it through the grapevine already--I'm divorced. Got a kid out of it, though."

"Really?" Jim's voice had gotten softer somehow. "What's the kid like then?"

McCoy was so used to people asking after Jocelyn, thinking that walking him through the divorce again was somehow therapeutic, that Jim's line of questioning threw him a bit. "She's a good kid," he said, at least, even if it sounded a bit generic. "She's already at the top of her class and about ready to tackle the school system if not the world." His laugh is a lot more real this time. "You should have seen how she tore into the coach when he tried to tell her ladies didn't play sports."

Jocelyn had panicked, having held out hopes that their daughter might become one of those dainty Southern debutants, but McCoy knew right from the start that his daughter had far too much gumption to fit into anyone's mold but her own.

"You two must get along great then, being so similar." McCoy wanted to protest that (he still has no idea how such perfection sprang out his genetics) but there's something so warm and genuine in Jim's smile that it makes his throat clench. "I bet you're a great dad."

"Sap," McCoy tossed back.

He kept the skeleton up, though, and even puts out a bowl of candy on the front desk. He had to stop Jim from stealing away most of it when he came in dressed like a pirate captain (of course he'd be the type to dress up) but he softened a bit when he caught the guy splitting up his wares between the other professors' kids.

For all the Casanova with a side of bastardy rumors, Jim Kirk was actually a pretty good guy.

\--

It went to fate that after Jim had heard about Joanna he had to meet her. He had already pestered McCoy until he knew all the stories behind each of the photos that made up the small collection on his desk and even (through the lure of doughnuts) about the card she had made him back as a little one with startlingly straight letters and a drawing of him in his doctor's outfit.

Still, no matter how much Jim pleaded with those puppy dog eyes to know when McCoy would have Joanna next, McCoy refused to budge. Which was why he all but tripped over his feet when he showed up to the med center that day to find Joanna perched on the steps with Jim, both of them looking relaxed and giggling together.

Joanna sprang up the instant she saw him. "Dad!" She started nonstop babbling even before he arms were wound around him. "I'm sorry for showing up early, but our school had a fire drill so we got out early. I was here waiting for you to come and then Mr. Kirk came to look after me while you were away."

"I thought I told you to just call me Jim." Jim had pushed up from the steps by now, brushing the wet leaves off his pants. The grin on his face could only be called cheeky. "That's what your dad calls me."

McCoy wanted to bash his head off something hard at the obvious suggestion in Jim's voice. At least Joanna's puzzled expression showed that she hadn't understood it at all. "Not that I'm not grateful—" He barely suppressed his urge to roll his eyes as Jim preened. "—but what are you even doing here? Don't you have classes teach?"

"Not morning ones," Jim replied cheerfully. "Which meant I had all the time in the world to keep our lady safe from harm."

McCoy wasn't all that sure what to make of his use of "our" but he couldn't deny that it made him feel better to know that Joanna hadn't been waiting all by herself. It wasn't as though Enterprise had a bad campus or even had a bad town and Joanna was twelve (a big girl, as she liked to remind him) but that wasn't going to stop him from fretting over her like he used to when she could still fit in the crook of his arm.

"Well I guess someone had to." He reached out to ruffle Joanna's hair. Jocelyn's genetics had taken over there, giving her a whole bevy of honey blond ringlets. She had his dark eyes, though. "Who knows what mischief this girl could have gotten up to on her own."

Joanna's hands flew up to fix her hair instantly. " _Dad_." The smile playing around the corners of her mouth and the fondness in her eyes showed that he wasn't in quite as much trouble as he thought, however. She was rocking up onto the tips of her toes in a second anyway, grinning up at him. "It's alright if Mr. Kirk comes over during his lunch break, right? He promised to grab me something from that awesome deli down the street."

"Something tells me I don't actually get much of a say in this." As if McCoy stood a chance against the combined pleading faces of both Jim and his daughter. 

It was worth it anyway to watch how easily Jim worked his daughter out of her shell, listening patiently to all of her animated conversations about school. Even Carol cracked a smile while watching the two of them.

Everything was going surprisingly well until Jim propped his elbows on the desk and leaned towards Joanna. "So, Miss Joanna," he said, "I know your dad has a constant grumpy face but there has to be some way to get through it, right?"

Joanna looked up, still sucking the last bits of chocolate off of her fingers. "Of course there is," she said.

Jim perked straight up at that, like a hound after a scent. "Really? How?"

McCoy's eyebrows shot up when he saw Joanna's wicked smirk. He wasn't sure where exactly she'd picked that one up. "Me."

Carol burst out laughing and McCoy had to cough awkwardly into his fist to avoid it himself, yet Jim hardly seemed deterred. 

"Is that so?" And that was about all the warning any of them got before Jim suddenly decided it would be a brilliant idea to tickle the hell out of McCoy's daughter.

Joanna was squealing for his help within seconds, but Carol dove in before he could anything, making Jim shriek almost as much as Joanna.

In the end, it was up to McCoy to break the three of them up, muttering about how he was sure they were going to get a noise complaint otherwise.

"No way!" Jim said. "You can't get Cupcake out here. That'd just be..." He trailed off all on his own, eyes widening in awe for a reason McCoy couldn't understand until he burst out, "You're smiling!" 

McCoy could already feel the heat creeping up his collar and hated every second of it. "Doesn't count," he said. "It was brought about by outside circumstances."

"Doesn't matter." Jim slumped back in his seat, smiling in a way that was way too content. "I still got to see you smile."

McCoy grumbled as he slumped down in his seat, doing his best to ignore the very curious look his daughter was sending his way. That was a conversation he didn't want to have with her for a _long_ time yet.

\--

Joanna stayed quiet about what went down in the office right up until McCoy was tucking her into bed (because he wasn't going to stop that until he was told to). "So, Jim is your friend, isn't he?" she asked. "Like Carol?"

"Oh, so it's 'Jim' now, is it?" McCoy said. He chuckled as the tips of Joanna's ears flushed red, tweaking them gently. "Yeah, I suppose you could call him that."

"Okay then." He wasn't quite sure how to read the little smile she sent his way. "He's really handsome, though, don't you think?"

"Oh God." McCoy scrubbed a hand across his face in sudden horror. "Please tell me you aren't starting to get some sort of crush on him. Because if you are then I have so many horror stories to warn you off with. Not to mention a lecture as to why those kind of relationships will _never_ work."

It was Joanna's turn to laugh now, shaking her head. "No way, Dad," she said. "Jim's totally not for me. He made that pretty obvious, don't you think?"

"Huh." McCoy dipped down to press a kiss to Joanna's forehead. "And here I thought you were out of ways to surprise me."

\--

Carol had a way of showing up in the med center whenever she wanted to. McCoy had just learned to accept it, which was the only reason he didn't shoot out of his skin when came back from a quick trip to his office to find her perched on the examination table.

"What do you want now, Carol?" He narrowed his eyes at her. "You're not sick, are you?"

"No, not at all." Carol glanced down, fidgeting with the hem of her skirt, as if tugging it down a bit will bring it any closer to her knees. For a woman usually so composed it was odd to see her this way, which could only mean that something was definitely up.

McCoy could be patient when the time actually called for it, though, so he just crossed his arms over his chest and waited. 

Carol sighed, although she hardly seemed to be put out about being figured out. "Christopher Pike offered to take me out for dinner this weekend." Her nose wrinkled. "He actually asked for my father's permission, which is far too old fashioned but I suppose it does kill two birds with one stone."

McCoy, who had met Alexander Marcus when he wasn't even interested in Carol and received the most terrifying dressing down of his life, could only nod. "Guess I'm gonna have to give you my stamp of approval then if that old beast has already thrown down his."

Carol giggled, yet she hadn't stopped shifting on the examination table. "Pike actually suggested something a little interesting about our date," she said.

As if that wasn't supposed to put McCoy on red alert. "I thought you said this guy was clear?" he said. "What the heck does he got up his sleeve?"

Carol straightened herself up primly on the examination table. "It's nothing that strange." The brush of pink around her cheeks spoke otherwise, however. "He only suggested that we might try double dating. With you and Jim."

It was a good thing there was a chair behind him because McCoy was pretty sure he would have wound up flat on his ass otherwise. "I'm sorry, I don't think..." He rose a hand. "You know what? No. What the actual _fuck_?"

"I was that way at first too! But then Pike started talking to me about Jim and what a good guy he can be." Oh God, she was rambling, that really wasn't a good sign. "His dad died in that really nasty shooting at that campus out West—" McCoy remembered that, despite how young he'd been at the time, and he really didn't think that Jim would appreciate Carol spilling his life story out like this. "—and then he wound up in that awful Tarsus school. Pike took him under his wing, though, even convinced him to apply himself and become a professor."

"Are you actually trying to convince me to do this?" McCoy said. "When you threatened me with a fork when it wasn't even a possibility."

Carol had the grace to look more than a little abashed. "I may have been wrong," she said. "And, besides, it's not like I haven't noticed how you two act around each other." She hopped off the examination table. "You don't have to give an answer right away, but at least consider it, alright?" She squeezed his shoulder, a small, soft smile on her lips. "You deserve to have a bit of happiness in your life, Leonard."

"I'm plenty happy," McCoy grumbled. He had Joanna in his life to keep him that way, after all. He had to resolutely set about straightening the examination room (which didn't actually need it), however, when all he could think about was the way that Joanna had been with Jim, the two of them laughing so freely.

\--

Of course it was right when McCoy wanted to avoid thinking about Jim that the guy took it upon himself to invade his personal space even more than usual. Apparently he had gotten word that Carol was spending a lot of her lunch breaks over with Pike now (the minx) and didn't want him to feel abandoned.

It should have been easy to eat with Jim, he'd done it plenty of times before, but now he knew that Jim had been one of those kids at Tarsus and he couldn't seem to stop himself from watching the way Jim would eat. He thought he was doing fine at hiding it until Jim offered him the rest of his sandwich, causing McCoy to have a rather intense flashback to the time Carol had tried to jokingly steal a pickle from Jim and he had nearly twisted her wrist off.

His delay in saying anything was only made worse by the way he sputtered afterwards and just like that Jim's look shuttered down. 

"Who told you?" 

McCoy didn't even try to deny it or ask what he was talking about. He just sighed and said, "Carol. Pike gave her your life story apparently. The two of 'em obviously meant well so don't go snapping their heads off or anything."

"Can't make any promises," Jim muttered. He tossed his sandwich back down onto his napkin. "I guess you want me to spill my guts now, huh?"

McCoy winced. "No thanks. I saw enough of all that mess on the television." His parents had thought he was too young to understand it completely, but he had. How could he not after seeing all those images of all those emancipated bodies and the white sheets covering too small forms?

"It was supposed to be the best boarding school out there," Jim said. His voice sounded far too hollow, absolutely nothing like the animated Jim that McCoy had come to know. "It's why my mom sent me there. She thought it would be good for me, help me shape up a bit." His hands curled together on the table, a tremor starting to emerge in his voice. "And when that bastard started doing what he did, I tried to help the other kids stay safe. I _tried_."

McCoy reached out, settling his hand over one of Jim's fists. "Jim, no one is going to blame you for what happened in that place. I'd deck out anyone who dare'd try."

That rose a laugh from Jim, although it sounded wet. "You always get to do the fun things," he said.

"You and I have some very different definitions of fun," McCoy said. He flicked Jim's hand just to see the man's startled look. "But I will take that sandwich if you don't want it."

From the way Jim grinned when he handed the thing over, you would have thought McCoy had successfully lifted the weight of the world from his shoulders. In a way he hoped he had.

\--

The weekend was fast approaching and McCoy wasn't any closer to giving Carol an answer. He couldn't say his relationship with Jim was getting worse, though. The two of them had spilled out the darkest corners of their lives by now and there were some things you couldn't shuck through together without becoming proper friends.

It did mean that Jim took a few more liberal tendencies with him, though. He had practically run halfway across campus after all when Jim called him up to his classroom, only to have Jim great him with a beaming smile and an excited burst, "So, Bones, do you feel up to showing my students what do in case of an emergency while climbing?" 

McCoy had made sure to make him his practice dummy just for that, prodding much more than was necessary throughout the whole procedure, as much for the slight heart attack as for the very unneeded nickname use.

Most of the kids were almost falling out of their seats while watching them and even Chekov had to give in eventually. McCoy had to grin when he saw that Sulu was there waiting for the kid when he got out of class and laughed outright when Sulu gave him the thumbs up after hearing what he'd done to Jim.

He had barely gotten to the stairs, however, when his phone started ringing. He frowned at the number, but knew there was no way he couldn't answer. "What is it Jocelyn? You don't usually call around work hours."

"No." Then, just like always, she cut straight to the point, "It's Joanna."

McCoy felt his chest seize up all at once, hand tightening around the the stair railing, the cold iron digging into his palm. "What happened? Is she alright?"

"That's just the problem," Jocelyn said. "I don't know. She just went right up to her room after school, slammed the door and everything." He could hear a slight bounce in the background and knew she had to be tapping her foot. "She's never acted like this before, but you've always been closer to her and I thought that you might be able to get through to her."

"I can come pick her up early," McCoy said.

Jocelyn breathed out a sigh of relief. "Thank you so much, Len. See you soon?"

"Course." There was a new heaviness to his limbs when he hung up the phone, eyebrows shooting up when he turned to find Jim next to him. "How long have you been there?"

"Long enough to know something's wrong." Jim's brow was all knotted together, his lips turned down. "What happened?"

"It's Joanna." McCoy scrubbed a hand across his face. "She threw some sort of fit and we don't know why. It's obvious she's upset but she just won't talk to us."

Jim was silent for a handful of seconds, mouth pursed, before saying, "Wait right here."

"What the heck are you doing?" McCoy demanded as Jim dashed off. 

Jim whipped around in the middle of running to grin at him. "To grab my stuff," he said. "This is one of my specialties!"

And the funny thing was, McCoy didn't even question the fact that he was all but inviting him along.

\--

Jocelyn raised her eyebrows when McCoy showed up on her doorstep with Jim in tow. Even she couldn't hold up under the full weight of his charm, though. But McCoy couldn't help but notice that Jim didn't seem to be putting his all into it, which made a bit more sense once he noticed how Jim narrowed his eyes when Jocelyn's tone got a bit too sharp towards him.

It was kind of flattering, really.

This place had once been home too and even if it hadn't he would still know which room belonged to his daughter's. He rapped his knuckles against the door. "Jo?" His heart clenched painfully tight when there wasn't any answer. "Come on, baby, whatever it is, I won't judge you." He paused then added, "I even brought Jim."

"And cookies!" Jim piped up, hoisting up the white paper bag. "I made him stop at that place you told me about."

It took a few more moments but the door slowly creaked open. All it took was the first sight of his daughter's face, eyes already sporting veins and tear tracks on her full cheeks, for McCoy to break. "Oh, sweetheart."

Joanna just sniffed and McCoy could already sense Jocelyn hovering on the stairs, ready to pounce in with her own smothering demands. He wasn't about to give her the chance, however, stepping into the room and pulling Jim in along with him.

He reached out to cup a cheek in the palm of each hand once they're inside, looking down so he can meet his daughter's gaze squarely. "What's going on, Jo?" he asked.

Joanna swallowed hard. "It's stupid," she said. "I shouldn't even be this worked up."

Jim dropped the bag of cookies down onto the bed. "First rule," he said, "you're allowed to feel however the hell you want and anyone who says otherwise is a dick."

McCoy wanted to snap at Jim not to use that kind of language around his daughter, but Joanna is actually smiling so he can't much fault him.

"It was some girls at school," she said, and from what McCoy knew about teenage girls that could only mean one thing. "Normally I can take it because it's all just a bunch of stupid sh... stuff." (She's a McCoy, it's probably in her genetics to swear early.) "But they found out about how Bobby Miller turned me down. And, I mean, he was _really_ nice about it. He already had a girlfriend and I just didn't know. We're all friends now, so it's cool, but these girls heard about it and just went off. Kept saying how I would never get a boyfriend and there was just so much _wrong_ with me."

Before McCoy could even react his daughter was spun away from him. He had his mouth open to snap at Jim until he saw the intense look on the guy's face and the way his hands were braced on Joanna's shoulders. When he spoke his voice was low and solemn.

"You listen to me right now, Miss Joanna McCoy. There is absolutely nothing wrong with you. You got some of the best genetics on this planet working in your favor and a mind like a damn tack." He cocked his head to the side, grinning. "You also have your dad's mouth so you can give grown men a run for their money most days. Speaking from experience here." He smiled when Joanna laughed. "Those girls only said all that nonsense to you because they're jealous. So this weekend you're going to recoup with some damn good cookies and then you're going to strut your stuff right back into that school and kick all their asses all over again. Because none of those girls are worth even an inch of what you are."

Joanna didn't offer up any warning before launching herself at Jim besides for a sudden, blinding smile and the poor guy actually looks surprised to have received it. He melted into it pretty quickly, hugging back for all he was worth.

Joanna swiped the leftover tears out of her eyes once they broke apart, darting over to wrap her arms around him next, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Thank you, Dad." 

"What are you thanking me for?" McCoy asked. "I didn't do much of anything this time round."

Joanna knocked him in the side, grinning. "You _came_ ," she said. "That's enough for me." Her nose scrunched up. "I have to go explain all this to Mom, don't I?"

McCoy winced in sympathy. "'fraid so," he replied.

"Don't eat the cookies while I'm gone!" Joanna said. "They're my reward!" Then she darted out to deal with the force that was Jocelyn, knocking the door shut behind her.

Jim was rubbing at the back of his neck. "Guess I should apologize," he said. "I kind of took things over there when I should have left it to the actual dad in residence."

"Jim, my daughter is happy again because of you," McCoy said. "Do you honestly think I'm gonna pitch a fit at the guy that made her that way?"

Jim's laugh almost sounded surprised. "Guess not." He scuffed at the carpeted floor, eyes on the stuffed animals that still lined Joanna's bed even now. "Maybe I should apologize for not asking you out properly then."

McCoy's head snapped towards Jim so fast he was pretty sure he heard something snap or at the very creek. "What?" he said.

Jim winced, rubbing his hands across his face. "Sorry," he said, "that came out like shit. But Pike finally got fed up with my 'mooning' as he called it and said I had to jump on you before someone else snapped you up."

McCoy sat down on his daughter's bed, arms crossed over his chest. "Why in God's name does everyone keep treating me like some damn Scarlett O'Hara?" He rolled his eyes when Jim just stared at him blankly. "Let me guess? Double date?"

There was a harsh twist to Jim's mouth. "So Carol spilled out more than just my life story." He reached up to tug at his hair with his hands. "I thought she'd forgiven me, but she's already being this vindictive..."

And just like that McCoy was pushing up to his feet, tugging Jim's hands free from his hair. "Hey, she didn't mean anything by it. Her and Pike are just made for each other with their, 'We want you to be happy' spiel." He didn't realize how close he was to Jim until he actually stopped talking and then all of this just felt like some sort of really badly fit together cliché.

He caught Jim staring down at his lips and snorted. "You gonna make the first move, kid, or am I gonna have to?"

So, in the end, Leonard McCoy didn't swoon like a Southern belle. But he did go very willingly towards Jim when he was pulled forwards by his shirt and he certainly didn't mind grabbing hold of Jim's when the man proved that he really was a damn good kisser.

They broke apart like they'd been burned when the door opened, but Joanna just laughed. " _Finally_ ," she said. Then she rose up onto the tips of her toes to point her finger directly in Jim's face. "Don't you dare hurt my father, James Tiberius Kirk or I will use my considerable talents to find a place where they'll never find your body."

"I don't doubt that one bit so I'm gonna swear on whatever you want me to." Jim frowned. "Wait a second, how do you know my middle name?"

"I have my sources," Joanna grinned. 

Jim looked so genuinely proud of her that McCoy didn't have the heart to tell him that it was on the college website.

\--

When McCoy had first stepped down at his own college, he had imagined a future rather like the one he had gotten a taste of with Jocelyn. He wanted to have a job where he could actually _help_ people and someone he loved to come home to.

It didn't turn out exactly how he expected, but, looking back on it, he'd say he did pretty well. He might not be saving lives each day, but a lot of the college students look at him like he does whenever he patches them up or gives them the right chunk of advice to push their asses into gear.

He got to have that person he loved to come home to now too, even if that person was absolutely nothing what he expected when he first started out. 

He stood in on the front step, holding onto a box as he watched everyone spread out across the lawn around the moving van. Uhura was already snapping rapid fire directions at Spock about the best way to hold onto his end of the couch while Chekov was making their TV do things McCoy never thought possible. Sulu was quite content to simply take the boxes that were passed down to him out of the moving van. Jim, however, was very plainly in an argument with Carol already, although from the way Pike raises his eyebrows at McCoy it's obvious it's not that bad.

McCoy decided to take pity on him, setting the box down inside so he can head down into the lawn. When he got closer he heard a few worrying phrases about color shades and knew just what they were talking about. "We're not painting anything in our house puce, Carol."

Carol pivoted on her heel, cheeks puffed out. "It would only be one wall," she said.

Joanna popped out from the bunk of the truck, her hair already a mess and a questionable streak across her cheek. "I don't care so long as I can still have the stars in my bedroom."

"Hey, I promised you, didn't I?" Jim leaned in to whisper to her conspiratorially. "Know we just have to convince your dad to cave on getting it in the master bedroom too."

McCoy could already tell by the matching grins aimed his way that he really will be caving, but he knew how he could seek early revenge on at least one co-conspirator. 

Joanna shrieked when he leaned in to kiss Jim, uttering a chorus of, "Ew!" that are obviously less than real but make everyone laugh anyway.

Jim made sure their foreheads were still resting together when they broke apart and his eyes are actually twinkling in the way that only his uncanny blue ones can. "You're _smiling_." He sounded downright giddy. "I made you smile again."

"Sap," McCoy said, but he didn't make effort to stop smiling. He didn't feel like stopping when he finally had some damn good reasons to keep at it again.


End file.
